And here we go again with new updates on the long-in-development Tupac biopic, which S&A has been closely following over the years.

Previously, Antoine Fuqua’sTupac project, which seemed like it would be made, appeared to be dead. As you might recall, it had been greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions, with shooting expected to begin in September 2011, with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (for Ali & Nixon) hired to write the script.

The story would have reportedly center on the last day of Tupac’s life, and included flashback sequences that showed the previous years leading up to his death.

Screenwriter Rivele added that they weren’t interested in showing who killed Tupac, but rather why anyone would want to kill him.

The project had even began casting last spring, with the plan being to go with mostly unknowns. Fuqua said, “That’s the goal… I want to discover someone new… I want to discover a lot of new people if I can. Obviously I’m going to have to put some people in it that you know, just because actors have different skills. I want to go to the streets and find him anywhere he might be in the world.”

However, despite what seemed like forward motion on the project in 2011, nothing came from all that, and Fuqua eventually left the project.

Skip ahead a year later, to last fall (2012), when Tambay wrote about receiving word from a trusted source telling him that the project was still very much alive, adding that a production start date of some time in early 2013 was expected, with Morgan Creek still behind the project, and Wilkinson and Rivele still listed as screenwriters.

The source also noted that Afeni Shakur is co-producing the film; although, no director was attached at the time, although one was to be selected and announced soon.

Skip ahead to this afternoon, from a Deadline report stating that Michael Starrbury who penned the screenplay for George Tillman Jr’s The Invevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, (making its debut at Sundance) has been hired by Morgan Creek Production to rewrite the script for their Tupac Shakur biopic.

Here’s its official synopsis, from Morgan Creek:

The film centers on the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, from his emergence as a young artist, through his imprisonment, and last prolific years that catapulted him into the upper echelon of American cultural icons.

Shooting was to take place primarily in Atlanta.

No word yet on a timeline for Starrbury to complete his rewrite and for production to eventually begin. But it looks like the project is still very much alive.